WAGR Ec class

The WAGR Ec class was a class of 4-6-2 heavy passenger and goods Vauclain compound locomotives operated by the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) between 1901 and 1958.[1]

WAGR Ec class
Ec249 at Kellerberrin on the Eastern Goldfields Railway in 1903
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works Total produced 20 Rebuilder Midland Railway Workshops Rebuild date 1924-25 as L class Number rebuilt 20
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-2 Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Total weight Ec: 73 long tons 0 cwt (163,500 lb or 74.2 t) L: 77 long tons 12 cwt (173,800 lb or 78.8 t) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 5 long tons 0 cwt (11,200 lb or 5.1 t) Water cap 2,500 imp gal (11,000 l; 3,000 US gal) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 20.5 sq ft (1.90 m^2) Boiler pressure Ec: 200 lbf/in^2 (1.38 MPa) L: 160 lbf/in^2 (1.10 MPa) Valve gear Walschaerts
Performance figures Tractive effort Ec: 16,000 lbf (71.17 kN) L: 17,952 lbf (79.85 kN) Factor of adh. Ec: 4.5, L: 3.5
Career Operators Western Australian Government Railways Numbers Ec236-Ec255 Nicknames Bull Yanks First run 1901 Retired 1958 Disposition all scrapped

History

A total of 20 Ec class engines were built by Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, in the first half of 1901, and entered service with the WAGR later that year.[2][3] The following year, Baldwin built the first of two batches of the C class, a lighter version of the Ec class.[4]

Initially, the Ec class' main task was to haul heavy trains on the Eastern Goldfields Railway. Between 1920 and 1923, nine Ec class engines were lightened for use on the lightly laid Northam to Mullewa line, and reclassified as the Eca class.[3][5]

All 20 were withdrawn between 1923 and 1925, with the frames, wheels, cabs and tenders married with new boilers, cylinders and valve gear at Midland Railway Workshops to become the L class. The costs of the rebuilds were recovered within four years through lower maintenance costs.[3][5]

By the early 1930s, frame cracks were beginning to appear with 14 receiving new frames. They were replaced in the 1950s by the W class.[3][5][6][7]

See also

• Rail transport in Western Australia
• List of Western Australian locomotive classes

References

Notes

1. Gunzburg 1984, pp. 69, 71.
2. Gunzburg 1984, p. 69.
3. Oberg, Leon (2010). Locomotives of Australia 1850s-2010. Dural: Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 112–113. ISBN 9781921719011.
4. Gunzburg 1984, p. 72.
5. Turner, Jim (1997). Australian Steam Locomotives 1896-1958. Kenthurst: Kangaroo Press. pp. 27, 89. ISBN 086417778X.
6. Gunzburg 1984, pp. 69-71.
7. Gunzburg 1984, pp. 100–101.

Cited works

• Gunzburg, Adrian (1984). A History of WAGR Steam Locomotives. Perth: Australian Railway Historical Society (Western Australian Division). ISBN 0959969039.

External links

Media related to WAGR Ec class at Wikimedia Commons
Media related to WAGR L class at Wikimedia Commons